Accidents Happen
by IvoryRose888
Summary: That's how the old saying goes, but those two simple words won't heal a broken soul when its other half is lost. He never imagined something like this could happen, so simple, so quick, but so painful in the end. Based on teapotjee's fan art found - here. ((Rated T for character death.))


"God, that Hanji is crazy." Jean groused to himself as he ambled toward his apartment.

Hanji Zoe, the "famed" anatomy professor, had a reputation for being, according to others, far too interested in the subject that she taught. That day, she had asked for a handful of students to stay after school to aid her in a dissection, offering up extra credit to anyone willing to accept the challenge. Though he knew it'd probably result in a grotesque canvas of Hanji's…passion for knowledge of the human body, Jean had eagerly grabbed at the offer, pushing aside any negative thoughts until the whole process was over. He made himself think of the points involved, though it wasn't like Jean_ really_ needed them. He was one of the top students out of all of Hanji's classes, out of his entire graduating class, in fact, but he wanted more than that. He wanted to finally be in the top five of her classes, the top five out of the entire 104th class of Trost Academy. He was tired of being so close but not quite good enough, and he was tired of constantly being one-upped by that obnoxious Eren Jaeger… 

Jean started a bit as his phone vibrated against his thigh, but his surprise turned to irritation when he saw the name that popped up in his inbox. "Speak of the devil…" He murmured to himself as he snapped his phone shut and continued walking; that arrogant German probably just wanted to bug him some more about their debate in government. Jean had clearly wiped the floor with Eren's sorry argument- 

His phone vibrated again and again, ceaselessly and consecutively with each step he took. "What the-" He flipped open his phone and scrolled through his inbox, seeing "Connie," and "Mikasa" and "Sasha," even "Reiner" and "Bernholdt" and "Annie" pop up amidst a steady flow of "Eren"s. "What's going on…" Scrolling back to the first message from Eren, Jean pressed the center button and ran his eyes over the digital characters, slowing a bit when he reached the last word. 

"Jean…um…It's about Marco." 

Marco? He'd just seen Marco in 5th period. Why- 

Jean quickly switched to Eren's next text, his fingers seeming to take on their own will, and rapidly read over the message. He froze in the middle of the sidewalk, his eyes glued to the phone. 

"There's been an accident." 

The black letters on the screen were clear, but they held little meaning to him as they began to blur and fade. Jean felt his world tipping, slipping, crumbling into pieces as his eyes roved the screen over and over again, searching for some kind of meaning. His legs suddenly sprang into action, carrying him as fast as they could to his apartment complex, up the stairwell, and to his door. He fumbled with the key for what felt like hours before he finally jammed it into the lock and turned the brass ornament, stumbling blindly into his abode as he slammed the door behind him. 

He was numb. So numb. His limbs, his face, his chest, his mind: they all felt numb, cold, useless, as he dropped his bag and collapsed onto the couch, his hands trembling as he slowly brought the phone before his watery gaze. 

"There's been an accident." 

The words didn't change, the letters didn't move, no matter how much he willed them to. The message was the same. His mind knew what his heart refused to acknowledge. Bringing his palm to his quivering lips, Jean stared at the message, reading it over and over, ignoring the liquid salt trailing down his cheeks as he hoped, even prayed to some unknown and unwanted God, that it wasn't true. That his mind was running away with itself. That it was a misunderstanding on his part. That Marco was just laid up in the hospital, sleeping soundly and already making a smooth recovery… 

A soft sob escaped from between Jean's lips as his phone vibrated over and over again, signaling the interference of more and more message bearers, trying to get in their two cents. In a sudden fit of rage, Jean hurled the phone against the opposite wall, slumping to the carpet as the dull clap of his phone hitting the plaster and slapping to the floor reached his ears. 

"Marco…" He whispered into the dead air. 

* * *

He stayed there, trembling, tears pouring from his eyes, forming puddles in the rug, until a soft knock shattered his solitude. At first he just lay there, staring bitterly at the door, as if blaming it for the visitor on the other side. Who on earth would come to visit him? Especially at a time like this? 

Rising shakily, Jean crossed to the door and peered through the peephole, his breath catching in his throat when a familiar crop of brown hair and teal eyes filled his vision. He rubbed viciously at his eyes and cheeks, trying to erase any trace before he threw the door open and stared Eren Jaeger down. 

"H-Hey Jean…." Eren stuttered, thrown off, Jean saw with slight satisfaction, by the sudden movement. "Um…I wasn't sure if you got my texts, since you never answered me, but…um…well…." He looked so uncomfortable, Jean realized, pained, even, as he tried in vain to voice what Jean already knew. The boy was almost touched by the effort, if not for the fact that Eren annoyed him so thoroughly. 

"I, um, I don't know how to tell you this, but…" 

"Marco's dead." Jean deadpanned, surprising himself with a controlled tone. 

Eren's wide eyes merely stared at him, his jaw slack in the face of his bluntness and, what seemed to him to be, apathy. "Y-Yeah. Um…" He tore his gaze from Jean's, staring at his feet as he stumbled through his story. "S-Sasha and Connie were driving home when they saw a bunch of ambulances and stuff…Off of Wall Avenue, a few blocks from the school. Anyway, they were just going to go by, but they saw a firefighter carrying a bag with the academy's logo, so they ran over to see what was up. Annie was already there by some crazy coincidence, and she told them what happened." Looking up timidly, Eren quietly asked, "Do you want to know?" 

Sucking in a harsh breath, Jean merely nodded and waited for the boy to continue. 

"They assume he was walking home from school when someone veered off the road and drove up on the side walk. They guess that he couldn't get out of the way in time, but he tried….Half of his body was…completely mangled…Annie said he was hardly recognizable…She…" He trailed off, suddenly ashamed of his rambling when he saw the horror in Jean's eyes. Eren's own orbs suddenly widened as he remembered something else; he reached down into his messenger bag and, with quaking hands, brought out a cloth bundle. 

"Here." He carefully handed it to Jean, a small, hopeful smiling crawling onto his lips. "Annie managed to steal this from the squad car when the cops had their backs turned." 

Carefully unfolding the dark emerald material, Jean's breath caught in his throat; this was Marco's jacket, with the Trost Academy's wings logo printed on the back. It was clean, free of any blood stains. He must have had it in his backpack. God,he got sick of telling that moron to cover up when it was chilly out… 

Remembering the other boy, Jean peered past the coat at Eren's shy stare and muttered a sincere, "Thanks, Eren" and turned to go back inside. 

"Yeah, no problem, Jean."


End file.
